In the ever growing ready-to-run ?-scale buggy segment, producing a vehicle that will stand out from the competition isn’t easy. One of the best ways to do this is to make a buggy that is loaded with hot features. One such buggy is the XTM XT2 Racer Track Edition. Most RTR buggies are great for bashing around and having loads of fun on the track, but XTM takes this one step further by adding a few key items such as Pro-Line tires, aluminum chassis supports and a powerful, race-legal .21 engine with pull-start. Let’s look deeper and see what this buggy is all about.

DRIVE TIME

TEST SPOT
SUN VALLEY SPEEDWAY � SUN VALLEY, CA

LET’S FLY

From lip to landing, the XT2 Racer provides a sense of confidence that would rival that of any RTR buggy on the market. It’s quite hard to get it out of control off small or large jumps, and if it did get out of control, reeling it back into shape was easy. I noticed that once in a while the front end would start to drift up. Correcting that was easy thanks to the threaded shock bodies and by adding a bit more preload to the rear end. This helped to stop the buggy from slapping the chassis on the face of the big jumps and leveled the buggy out.

A ROCKET OUT OF THE BOX

After the suggested break-in procedure, the XTM .21 engine was quite simple to tune and held the adjustments almost perfectly. The Sun Valley RC track is huge, and having an engine with enough grunt to get over the big jumps is a must. I was able to clear nearly ever jump with ease. The .21 engine is a rocket: plenty of bottom-end punch and ample top-end speed. I decided to rebuild the differentials and added 4,000WT in the front, 6,000WT in the center and 1,000WT in the rear. Wow! This woke the XT2 Racer up and made it an instant winner. I now had enough traction, and limited wheelspin allowed me to clear the giant 30-foot triple.

STEERS LIKE A CHAMP

Out of the box, the XT2 Racer has an awesome high-torque servo with more than 180 oz.-in. of torque. In the first couple of laps the servo-saver kept activating as I loaded the steering on the high-bite track. I pulled the buggy back into the pits and added two full turns of preload into the servo-saver. That made a world of difference. I could drive the buggy even harder into the corners without having to worry about the servo-saver kicking in. The supplied Pro-Line M2 Crime Fighters are dialed with tons of side bite and plenty of forward bite. A few times I managed to traction-roll in some of the high-bite corners. To help correct this, I cut off the entire outside row of knobs on all four tires. This helped the XT2 Racer rotate a little easier around the corners, making lap times even faster.

BUILT LIKE A SEMI

The XT2 Racer took colossal abuse during the test process. I ran tank after tank, and that kept me on the track for more than an hour’s worth of driving. Launching huge giant jumps, smacking pipes and landing on its lid, it came up short a few times off the bigger jumps. The body and wing looked like they had taken quite a bit of abuse; but when all was said and done, the suspension was still plush, the chassis was still straight, and nothing was loose.

POWERFUL BRAKES

The XT2 is finished off with a prepainted red, white and blue body. It’s also cut out, so you can slap it on and hit the track right away.

The supplied braking system works quite well. Having steel rotors with steel pads that have composite inserts yields plenty of power. Throughout my testing, I hardly noticed any brake fading even during the longer continuous driving stints. To help give the brakes a better feel, I added a 5mm section of fuel tubing onto the braking linkage for the front and back brake. I also readjusted the linkage col-lets so that the rear brake would activate first and the front brake second. Having the rear brake activate first allows the rear end to get loose and rotate into the corners much easier.

ENGINE PERFORMANCE

XTM .21

Below left: 7075 aluminum braces support the front and rear of the chassis for an ultra rigid platform.

Below right: 125cc is the legal limit for a fuel tank in the ?-scale buggy class, and that’s the capacity of the tank supplied with the XT2 Racer.

In keeping with the track-ready theme, XTM planted a .21 engine aboard with a pull-start and a black two-chamber pipe. The .21 engine is a three-port design with ABC construction and a two-needle adjustable carburetor. Cooling the engine is a generously sized blue aluminum 10-fin cooling head. Right out of the box, the carburetor settings were spot-on for break-in. With break-in out of the way, tuning for power was a breeze. To get the tune dialed in, I leaned out the low-speed needle three hours and the top-speed needle five hours. With the XTM .21 you’ll find that it has plenty of bottom-end punch, making it easy to squirt from turn to turn. The top end lacked a little bit, but overall for an RTR buggy there’s plenty of power on tap.

You won’t need to purchase racing rubber anytime soon; the XT2 comes with Pro-Lines popular Crime Fighter in M2 compound.

What better way to prep a buggy for the track than by tossing in some Pro-Line M2 Crime-Fighters with molded inserts on XTM black dish wheels. The Pro-Line M2 compound is soft but not so soft that new tires would be needed after a few heats of racing or bashing around for a few hours. Tagging along for the ride are Pro-Line molded inserts that give ample support and will last longer than the traditional open-cell white foam inserts. XTM’s black dish wheels are lightweight with ribbing on the inside of the wheel for support and they look awesome. This dynamic duo comes in the box unglued, so gluing is required.

Rocking suspension

The suspension package comes set from the factory, but you can change toe, camber and ride height in seconds.

Adjustability is paramount when it comes to setting up a buggy for various running conditions. The XT2 Racer offers enhanced versatility: up front you’ll find a total of 16 shock positions per wheel and a whopping 36 shock positions per wheel in the back. Along with the numerous shock positions, the XT2 Racer has four front-wheel camber adjustments and 24 camber adjustments in the back. Holding the front and rear suspension arms in place are some trick CNC suspension blocks that are extremely stout. The black-anodized shocks have threaded bodies and giant 3.5mm shock shafts.

Bombproof driveline

The drivetrain is beefy! A steel spur gear and chrome-plated 4.5mm driveshafts are standard equipment.

Spinning the wheels at each of the four corners is a massive set of axles composed of 4.5mm chromed-steel shafts. Up front you’ll find CVD-style axles, while in the rear are steel dogbones. Down the backbone of the chassis, the front- and rear-center driveshafts are also giant 4.5mm chromed-steel shaft dogbones.

Unique radio tray

The battery box is located towards the rear of the chassis for better balance. You’ll notice that the bright yellow silicone cover protects the on/off switch.

The XT2 Racer features a unique radio tray design that helps to distribute the weight evenly throughout the entire chassis. Instead of the receiver and battery box affixed in the rear of the chassis, the battery has been kept in the rear, while the receiver box has been shifted forward towards the center. You’ll also notice a Cirrus ball-bearing high-torque servo commanding the throttle/brake duties; it has been moved in towards the center of the chassis. Managing the steering is a Cirrus digital high-torque servo that’s positioned as low as possible for optimum CG. Filling in the extra space is a centrally mounted on/off switch and a transponder mounted right next to the steering servo.

INCLUDED ELECTRONICS & ACCESSORIES

Cirrus FM Radio

The XT2 Racer Track Edition’s radio is a step up from the rest thanks to its digital display, FM signal, 3-channel setup and plenty of adjustments. Like most top-end radios, the Cirrus radio allows endpoint adjustments, dual rate, channel reversing and even a 10-model memory. Another hot ticket to the Cirrus radio is its ABS brake function with three speed modes.

Cirrus CDS751 Digital High-Torque Steering Servo

This servo is without doubt the best-bang-for-the-buck all-metal gear servo to handle the steering duties in an ? RTR buggy. With a speed of .22 sec./60 deg. and a massive 181 oz.-in. of torque, that’s power! It offers great holding power, plenty of speed and a world of torque.

Cirrus CS601BB High-Torque Servo

Spec’ing a servo with 102 oz.-in. @6.0V of torque and a speed of .16s @6.0V for the throttle/brake duties works amazingly well with this XT2 racer. There’s plenty of speed for fast acceleration and more than enough torque to help this ?-scale buggy to stop on a dime.

Right out of the box, the XTM XT2 Racer requires very little work to hit the dirt. All you have to do is glue the tires, add some batteries to the radio and the receiver, break in the engine, and go. It’s simple, but here are some tips to help you get the most out of your buggy.

STAY TIGHT

It’s always a good idea to perform a nut-and-bolt check before you fire up any ready-to-run RC car, especially nitro. Many of the bolts throughout the bottom of the chassis have thread-lock on them, but adding a little extra and checking all the metal-to-metal fittings never hurt.

MESH RIGHT

After the engine has been broken in, double-check the gear mesh between the clutch bell and the center diff gear. Remember, there should just be a slight amount of play. If the mesh is too loose or too tight, you stand to destroy a spur gear and clutch bell in one shot.

DRAIN THE TANK

After every time you run your new RTR rig, it’s always a great idea to empty the fuel tank and run the engine until it’s dry. To go that extra mile, add in some after-run oil to help protect the insides of the engine. Fuel that is left in the engine and fuel tank for long periods of time will break down and create gumming issues, and these often lead to having to install new fuel line and taking the engine apart to clean out all the old fuel. A clean engine is a happy engine.

TIRE PREP

Since the XT2 Racer comes with some high end Pro-Line rubber, gluing is required. Be sure to clean the gluing surface of the tires with a clean rag and some denatured alcohol or acetone. This will clean off the mold-release agent, allowing the CA glue to have a better hold on the tires.

Rating the XT2 Racer Track Edition

Just when I thought I had most ready-to-run buggies figured out, XTM releases the XT2 Racer, and that took me for a complete spin. This buggy is loaded and comes with an engine that has plenty of grunt, a steering servo with enormous torque plus metal gears, Pro-Line M2 Crime Fighter tires and a great FM 3-channel radio system. Bang-for-your-buck buyers will love this buggy.

Share this:

About the author

Radio Control Car Action is the #1 RC magazine. More readers trust RC Car Action to provide them with the latest information and newest product reviews than any other RC publication. Published by Air Age Media, the largest multi-media company dedicated to enthusiasts of radio-control cars, planes and boats, aviation and diecast collecting, RC CAR Action is distributed around the world. With its network of six category-leading magazines plus special issues, books, DVDs, 10 websites, The Radio Control Show (a weekly web broadcast) and RCX, the world’s largest radio control expo, Air Age Media reaches more than one million drivers, fliers and collectors.